Venice-area Jews seek an eruv to ease limits on activities.By Sharon Bernstein and Martha Groves
Times Staff Writers

October 25, 2006

An Orthodox synagogue with the ambitious desire to enclose much of Santa Monica, Venice and Marina del Rey within a religious boundary known as an eruv

The Pacific Jewish Center in Venice wants to string fishing line between lampposts and sign poles for several miles through the coastal communities, creating a symbolic unbroken boundary.

Orthodox Jews within the boundary can consider themselves to be "at home" on the Sabbath. That eases restrictions of the holy day and allows people to carry food, push strollers and bring their house keys with them when they go out.

Such lines have been up for years in religious neighborhoods throughout the world. A large eruv encompasses a swath of Hollywood, Hancock Park, West Hollywood, Westwood, Beverly Hills and surrounding communities.

But never has anyone in Southern California attempted to run an eruv along the beach — and this has created debate.

The Coastal Commission staff has recommended against the enclosure, saying it could compromise the nesting area of a rare bird and obstruct views of the ocean. Leaders of the Venice synagogue are negotiating this week with commission officials in an effort to reach a compromise.

The request to create the eruv along the ocean raises tricky issues of religious freedom, coastal regulations and environmental protections. The discussion is occurring in a city that has the second-largest Jewish population in the nation and a state known for its tough environmental laws.

Rabbi Ben Geiger said the eruv would make it easier for people to practice their faith. With the eruv in place, synagogue members would be able to stroll the Venice boardwalk during the Sabbath and even bring a picnic. His own children — the youngest of whom is 4 — would not have to walk the 1 1/2 miles from their home to the synagogue on Ocean Front Walk.

Proponents even say the project would also boost local tourism, making Venice "an ideal vacation spot for Sabbath-observing tourists," according to the website touting the so-called L.A. Coastal Eruv.

"Part of being a Sabbath-observing Jew is that there are certain restrictions as to how we observe that day of rest," Geiger said. Observant Jews, he said, can't even push somebody in a wheelchair on Saturday, which has meant that at his synagogue a child who is confined to a wheelchair has been forced to stay inside for 25 hours at a stretch — the entire night and day of the Sabbath.
Here for the rest:http://www.thebirdman.org/Index/Temp/Temp-FishingLineJewsTyingUpCATown-Henri&Fredrick.htm
Read down far enough, and it mentions the eruv in Washington D.C. encompasses the White House. In case you care.